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Super Mario Bros Wii "off to good start"

But analyst unclear on whether title has "driven incremental hardware sales"

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian has released a new investor note following a meeting with Nintendo yesterday in which he cites the Wii manufacturer as saying that sales of Super Mario Bros Wii are "off to a good start after three days at retail".

However, he adds that it's not yet apparent whether or not the game has "driven incremental hardware sales," a point which he notes "remains a concern for the overall videogame industry."

The meeting also covered Nintendo's ongoing strategy to drive audience expansion by targeting users of all ages and attempting to balance even further the gender split, while Sebastian also noted the launch in Japan of the company's video-on-demand service, Wii-no-Ma.

He concludes that the outlook for the publisher will depend on the software line-up for the next 12 months, as well as the ongoing strength of the DS platform, and that while 2009 was disappointing, Nintendo is "upbeat" about its prospects for 2010 - and intends to "be more vigilant" in fighting piracy.

Nintendo's share price closed down 1.1 per cent to JPY 22,250 (USD 250.58) at the end of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange today.